Data Sources and Methods for the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Indicators

3.1    Data source

The GHG emissions indicators are based on GHG emissions data taken from Environment Canada’s National Inventory Report 1990-2010: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada. Data used to develop the National Inventory Report (NIR) are drawn from published and unpublished sources from various government departments, industry sources and scientific papers. The methods are consistent with internationally accepted Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reference documents. Figure 1–4 of the NIR illustrates the inventory preparation process and shows the main partners involved in preparing the annual inventory. A comprehensive list detailing all data sources (disaggregated by sector and sub-sector) can be found in chapters 3 through 8 of the NIR.

3.2    Spatial coverage

GHG emission estimates for the indicators are provided at the national, provincial/territorial and economic sector level.

3.3    Temporal coverage

GHG emissions are compiled annually and reported for the period 1990 to 2010. NIR data used to develop the indicators are almost completely compiled by the end of December of each reporting year by Environment Canada’s Pollutant Inventories and Reporting Division. In the period from November through March, draft estimates of the NIR, along with accompanying data tables, are prepared, reviewed by external experts and internal Environment Canada staff, and finally submitted electronically to the UNFCCC by April 15.

A comprehensive detailing of the temporal coverage for each data source used for the indicators can be found in chapter 1 (section 1.3) and in chapters 3 through 8 of the NIR.

3.4    Data completeness

Although the GHG emissions indicators are comprehensive, some emission sources have not been included due to exclusions within the NIR. Owing to their relatively small contributions to the total emissions, these exclusions do not significantly affect the overall completeness of the inventory. A detailed discussion of the emission sources not included can be found in Annex 5 of the NIR. 

3.5    Data timeliness

The data are current up to 2010. The GHG emissions indicators have less than a two-year time lag due to the time needed to collect, validate, calculate and interpret the data for reporting.